Revisiting this little blog of mine, coming back to this place that is so special to me has brought up so many emotions. For one, posing in front of a camera hasn’t come as easily as it once did. I’m out of practice and it feels just a tad bit uncomfortable. This is something i’m excited about, and i’m excited to learn to overcome again.

But second, it has renewed a feeling I had when I started this blog: body image discomfort is something to push through. Thick thighs are beautiful and should be celebrated. Patchy skin and pimples on faces are a part of life.

You may notice (or, hell, you may not) that I have a pimple on the side of my mouth in these photos. It comes from picking at my face and it’s not cute but you know what, pushing through the discomfort of not wanting to post photos because of it, moves me. It makes me feel empowered that i’ve hit publish regardless of that slight twinge of insecurity that I had, and pushed through.

Body positivity moves me. Helping others learn to love and accept their figures moves me. And far less seriously, skirts like this one with flow and movement help with the above – this one is good, ya’ll.

Okay so, before we get into the details of this post, let’s just take a collective sigh after the last year it’s been. Yes, I got married in 2016 (woot!) but otherwise, this has been a rough year. And gosh, the last month has been just beastly. I’ve had a terrible cold, followed by bronchitis, followed by the holidays. And so, no posts. Womp womp. 2017, i’m rootin’ for ya.

What I really want to do in this post is as ya’ll some questions. I’d love your candid, honest responses in the comments below, or via email (thepearshape@gmail.com), twitter, instagram, wherever or whenever. I’m doing some research for a potentially very exciting project, and your input would be the most welcome.

1. Where do you shop for leather wide calf boots?
2. How much would you pay for a beautifully designed, luxury wide calf leather boot (think Stuart Weitzman style, but that actually fit your calf)?
3. If you could design your perfect boot, what would it look like?

As always, ya’ll just make my heart sing. Thank you for being you, and for being here.

I firmly believe that what you put in your body has a massive impact on how you feel about it. A big part of the purpose of this blog is not just clothing reviews and tips (though, um, yes!) but is really sharing a life of body and self positivity.

So, with that I thought it might be good (and just downright entertaining) for ya’ll to see what we buy at the grocery store in a standard week.

Let me know what you think? If food is something you’re interested in, i’m happy to do more food/recipe/eating content.

This is my first time writing a post in nearly 2 years, and i’m terrified, excited, and hope you’re all eager to continue to join me on this journey.

I imagine everyone still following along is wondering where i’ve been. Well, since my last post i’ve: met a wonderful boy, moved in with him, had a scary medical experience (more on that below), gotten engaged and married. Phew! It’s been quite the 24 months.

I’d like to start out slow, putting one post in front of the other, seeing how I feel. This is a space i’ve loved for nearly five years, and i’m excited to be back to it, and to you.

But, before that, I want to share some words that I wrote just weeks after the most terrifying medical experience of my young life. Not to scare anyone or garner sympathy, but mostly because I want to remember my mindset and my thinking during that time. The words below are entirely unedited. They were composed during a time of recovery, when all I craved was to create. I never published these words or have shared them with anyone, until now.

I’m back ladies. Let’s do this.
_______

Date: May 29, 2015

Today, I felt the urge to create. To write, to publish, to share and to get my feelings out on paper. Mostly, I felt the strongest urge to come back to this space, to share with you where life has taken me in the last year.

The biggest change is the one i’m currently in. I write now from inside a home, on a Friday at 1030am. I write with a terrible headache, with a stomach full of nerves and fear in my heart. But all the while, a great fullness to be typing and breathing and living.
3 weeks ago I suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage. I woke up in the middle of the night with a head pain unlike any i’d ever experienced. My loving, caring boyfriend rushed me to the ER and life changed forever. I was immediately admitted to the hospital and so began weeks of pain, recovery, doctors and terror. As one that has never so much as suffered from a broken bone, this level of medical intervention was, to say the least, terrifying.
I sit now 2 weeks into recovery, out of the hospital. I am walking, I am talking, I am thinking, I am loving and I am breathing. For all of these things I am eternally grateful. I will work again, I will travel again, I will get my day-to-day life back again, in due time.
For that I am eternally grateful.
For this space, I am grateful.
For the ability to create, I am grateful.
For you, I am grateful.

This space has given me so much in the last 3 years. It’s a place that allows me to feel ownership over something, to share what I wish to share with the world, to grow a passion i’ve always had, to find people like me, to relate. Thank you for that, thank you for being here.